Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Profit

As an individual living in a unified society, everyone has certain social responsibilities to play. Businesses too, as parts of society, as they utilizes the available resources like water, land, roads and power of the society and depend on the society for its functioning. This creates an obligation on the business part to look after the welfare of society that it operates in and is indebted to. It should take care of those who are involved in securing its existence and survival such like- the proprietors, shareholders, employees, customers, government, society and community in general. So, every business should contribute part of its profit for the welfare of the society in some way or another for their benefit. For example, businesses should ensure satisfactory rate of return to shareholders, provide good wages and proper working conditions to its employees, make quality products at reasonable price to its customers, and etc.

This may leads one to ask, why should businesses come forward and be responsible towards these interest groups instead of focusing first and foremost on maximizing their profit. This is because profit making is not the sole function of business, at least not anymore. Values, expectations and the roles of people have changed. Nowadays there are new realities that a company need to face and for which new strategies have to be formulated in order to keep the business in pace with the changing times. Increasing evidence has shown that environmental and social responsibility makes good business sense. A company with good social and environmental records tends to perform better in the long run in comparison to those that do not behave responsibly. Why is this so? Well, you may have yet to realize that environmental and social criteria are increasingly influencing the individuals and organizations’ investment decisions both as customers and shareholders in today’s times. With...

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...Reading Article
The SocialResponsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits
by Milton Friedman
The New York Times Magazine, September 13, 1970. Copyright @ 1970 by The
New York Times Company.
When I hear businessmen speak eloquently about the "socialresponsibilities of
business in a free-enterprise system," I am reminded of the wonderful line about
the Frenchman who discovered at the age of 70 that he had been speaking prose all
his life. The businessmen believe that they are defending free enterprise when they
declaim that business is not concerned "merely" with profit but also with
promoting desirable "social" ends; that business has a "social conscience" and
takes seriously its responsibilities for providing employment, eliminating
discrimination, avoiding pollution and whatever else may be the catchwords of the
contemporary crop of reformers. In fact they are–or would be if they or anyone
else took them seriously–preaching pure and unadulterated socialism. Businessmen
who talk this way are unwitting puppets of the intellectual forces that have been
undermining the basis of a free society these past decades.
The discussions of the "socialresponsibilities of business" are notable for their
analytical looseness...

...Friedman, “The SocialResponsibility of Business is to IncreaseProfits”
In the article, “The SocialResponsibility of Business Is to IncreaseProfits,” Friedman states that “businessmen believe that they are defending free enterprise when they proclaim that business is not concerned merely with profit but also with promoting desirable social ends.” This socialresponsibility is defined as Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR), which is the belief that “corporations owe a greater duty to their communities and stakeholders” by having a “social conscience.” This, among other things, includes being environmentally responsible, contributing to non-profit organizations, and eliminating discrimination.
Friedman argues that "only people can have responsibilities" but that "businesses as a whole” cannot, as they are not persons. Since the corporate executive is an employee of the shareholders, and therefore only “responsible to his employers.” The corporate executive has primary responsibility to his employers to conduct business as they see fit, and manage the business to create the most profit while following the “basic rules of the...

...The Business Case for Corporate SocialResponsibility
Oxford Handbooks Online
The Business Case for Corporate SocialResponsibility
Elizabeth C. Kurucz, Barry A. Colbert, and David Wheeler
The Oxford Handbook of Corporate SocialResponsibility
Edited by Andrew Crane, Dirk Matten, Abagail McWilliams, Jeremy Moon, and Donald Siegel
Print Publication Date: Feb 2008
Online Publication Date: Sep
2009
Subject: Business and Management, Business Policy and
Strategy, Marketing
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199211593.003.0004
Abstract and Keywords
The purpose of this article is to provide a general summary of the key value propositions evident in the research
on the business case for corporate socialresponsibility (CSR), described as four general ‘types’ of the business
case, or four modes of value creation. It then presents a critique of these approaches (including identifying some
problems inherent in the construct of CSR itself) and offers some principles for constructing a ‘better’ business
case. Its intent is not to conduct a thorough review of studies analyzing the relationship between CSR and financial
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Amber Craggette
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Apples ethics and socialresponsibility
In researching the Apple Company’s Social (Supplier) and ethical responsibilities I found that their initiatives are geared toward Empowering Workers, Labor & Human Rights, Health & Safety, Environment and Accountability. I think their approach is interesting but I feel that a large company like Apple can do way more for the local communities and country as a whole.
Apples stance on empowering their workers is a wonderful thing. I think more companies need to recognize that a happy workforce makes for an overall greater employee and customer experience. Apple Inc. employs staff all over the world and is committed to treating employees with respect and dignity. The company provides educational resources for all of their employees giving them the opportunity to earn an undergraduate degree. Apple has very high standards and expectations in the industry. They provide their employees with the appropriate tools necessary to meet the high bar set forth; communicate and maintain a safe and respectable workplace. Training on the Apples Code of Conduct is mandatory for all new and existing employees.
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...﻿Formative Essay Business Ethics and Society
‘The main responsibility of business is to increase the profit for its shareholders – discuss ’.
First I am going to explain the role of shareholders and how they affect the decision making of businesses. I will then discuss other stakeholders and the responsibilities that the business ‘owes’ to them. I also plan to look at examples of real life businesses that have made decisions based on the different stakeholder’s needs and wants and compare this in terms of ethical theories.
Shareholders are just one form of stakeholders that have a stake in the business. They invest in businesses in order to see a return on their money through profits. It could be argued that investing large amount s of money into a business is risky and so the largest incentive is financial.
A business is usually run by a group of managers/directors on behalf of the shareholders. Shareholders attend annual general meetings in order to use their powers and exert control over the Directors. However, it is important to note that shareholders can also be directors. For example all John Lewis employees own shares of the company, so they have more of an incentive for the business to be successful in order to keep their jobs and investments safe. Shareholders also have certain duties to...

...ethics, teaching ethics, business ethics that brings together people of the same profession. These principles deal with values relating to human conduct with respect to concepts such as being good or bad, decent or shameful, right or wrong etc. These values guide members of a group to act in a manner that is consistent with the values and standards as established.
Business ethics are those virtues that business people apply when making business decisions. They are the standards expected within the business world, even if they are not written down and which business people ought to adopt. For instance business people are expected to afflict least suffering to their customers, being fair in their dealings and nurturing an enduring virtuous corporate character in totality. Business ethics are important because they keep business people to operate within a moral and legal pedestal which not only leaves them satisfied internally but also increases sales because most people like dealing or doing business with honest businessmen.
Good business ethics should be embraced by all businessmen because engaging in unethical practices, which may include breaking the law, may lead to heavy fines or lack of trust by members of the public. Some of the business ethics include the following:
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...The SocialResponsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits
Milton Friedman
The New York Times Magazine
September 13, 1970
When I hear businessmen speak eloquently about the "socialresponsibilities of business in a free-enterprise system," I am reminded of the wonderful line about the Frenchman who discovered at the age of 70 that he had been speaking prose all his life. The businessmen believe that they are defending free enterprise when they declaim that business is not concerned "merely" with profit but also with promoting desirable "social" ends; that business has a "social conscience" and takes seriously its responsibilities for providing employment, eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution and whatever else may be the catchwords of the contemporary crop of reformers. In fact they are--or would be if they or anyone else took them seriously--preaching pure and unadulterated socialism. Businessmen who talk this way are unwitting puppets of the intellectual forces that have been undermining the basis of a free society these past decades.
The discussions of the "socialresponsibilities of business" are notable for their analytical looseness and lack of rigor. What does it mean to say that "business" has...